Ugh, another season of already semi-famous people I couldn't care less about? At least there were some normal teams this time

I just got Hulu and am watching the first season. I really liked how TAR had more regular people in the beginning. The semi-famous people in recent seasons already know how to play to a camera, give good soundbites, etc. That makes the show less real to me.

I'm amazed at the shifting of placements throughout leg Dessie & Kayla were mid-pack and come in last, Cedric & Shawn at the front end up being at the back. Henry & Evan being young, both at 22 and are doing well. I expected Cody & Jessica would nail it for that 1st place until the Skiers won. The footrace + penalty at the end was suspenseful. Bummed at the Ring Girls going home. I would have preferred them to survive over the Goat Yoga Moms. More could be done from the tasks. They could have focused more on Icelandic culture and a more extreme task. Premiere episode must have that wow factor. The cast is likable, all of them.

It's a very different airdate as well, and one that some of us have been asking for eversince the move to Fridays.If we're not getting 2 seasons a year anymore, I wouldn't be mad at all if TAR aired exactly like this each year!

I didn't watch the episode live, and I caught up later, with my usual rewinding of random moments.Maybe that's why I had a bit of a different experience, but I don't really get all the criticism for the editing?The only thing I completely agree on is that Goat Yoga didn't need THAT much airtime, even though I found their inner drama entertaining. We could've had a minute or two to focus on the Ring Girls being unable to find parking for over an hour.

The thing is, premiere episodes are always clusterfs in terms of editing, because a good deal of time is spent at the starting line and introducing teams. So maybe that's why I don't expect everyone to have a fair share of airtime in the first episode, because that's just impossible given just 42 minutes of show.

The roadblock is one of my favourite tasks in a long time! Let alone, to have it on leg 1, when most first legs tend to be pretty straightforward, was amazing. I loved how a few teams couldn't figure out that the Os were different. And seeing how long it took them to realize, it must really have been hard to see the letters in ice clearly. I wonder if ice was chosen on purpose then?

I don't mind that the other 2 ARIs were simple tasks, as self-driving was involved this leg, and upped the difficulty for the teams tremendously. We seriously had so many placement shifts, I was impressed while watching! Plus, the first ARI was a heights task, some of which are always needed on the race, and the other one required local interaction, which was a nice touch as well.

In terms of the teams... nobody seems unlikeable? It's pretty strange, because I always find someone to root against, even if those feelings change later on, but this season everyone seems like really nice, entertaining people. Maybe the comp eaters are a bit bizarre. I'm really sad that the Ring Girls were eliminated, but I would honestly say the same thing if they won that tight footrace against Goat Yoga. The moms seem like a typical out-of-their-element underdog team, which everyone always roots for, but it seemed that Dessie & Kayla would've been strong racers had they just not made this 1 mistake on the first leg. And that makes me sad to see them go.

I like them as a team, and their soundbites are great, but I really wish NBA was eliminated this leg. They just had a bad, bad leg and had that penalty sunk them to last, I imagine we would all be saying what a disastrous, pathetic way to go out that was (ala Kelly & Shevonne, just to a smaller extent ). Anyway, maybe they'll continue to be a fun trainwreck to watch!

I didn't watch the episode live, and I caught up later, with my usual rewinding of random moments.Maybe that's why I had a bit of a different experience, but I don't really get all the criticism for the editing?The only thing I completely agree on is that Goat Yoga didn't need THAT much airtime, even though I found their inner drama entertaining. We could've had a minute or two to focus on the Ring Girls being unable to find parking for over an hour.

The thing is, premiere episodes are always clusterfs in terms of editing, because a good deal of time is spent at the starting line and introducing teams. So maybe that's why I don't expect everyone to have a fair share of airtime in the first episode, because that's just impossible given just 42 minutes of show.

The roadblock is one of my favourite tasks in a long time! Let alone, to have it on leg 1, when most first legs tend to be pretty straightforward, was amazing. I loved how a few teams couldn't figure out that the Os were different. And seeing how long it took them to realize, it must really have been hard to see the letters in ice clearly. I wonder if ice was chosen on purpose then?

I don't mind that the other 2 ARIs were simple tasks, as self-driving was involved this leg, and upped the difficulty for the teams tremendously. We seriously had so many placement shifts, I was impressed while watching! Plus, the first ARI was a heights task, some of which are always needed on the race, and the other one required local interaction, which was a nice touch as well.

In terms of the teams... nobody seems unlikeable? It's pretty strange, because I always find someone to root against, even if those feelings change later on, but this season everyone seems like really nice, entertaining people. Maybe the comp eaters are a bit bizarre. I'm really sad that the Ring Girls were eliminated, but I would honestly say the same thing if they won that tight footrace against Goat Yoga. The moms seem like a typical out-of-their-element underdog team, which everyone always roots for, but it seemed that Dessie & Kayla would've been strong racers had they just not made this 1 mistake on the first leg. And that makes me sad to see them go.

I like them as a team, and their soundbites are great, but I really wish NBA was eliminated this leg. They just had a bad, bad leg and had that penalty sunk them to last, I imagine we would all be saying what a disastrous, pathetic way to go out that was (ala Kelly & Shevonne, just to a smaller extent ). Anyway, maybe they'll continue to be a fun trainwreck to watch!

Most probably the usage of ice is chosen on purpose, it is Iceland (terrible pun). Having a challenge involving the country's native language is fun to watch. I agree with everything you say. Did not expect Goat Yoga Moms to clash and the NBA Legends mistake that make good TV. I pictured Dessie & Kayla being like Tiffany & Krista, I wish they survived.

I have one observation regarding the provided winter clothing. And that is that it included boots, which most teams ran around in.

Am I the only one seeing the issue here with getting brand new, not broken in, boots and having to run around in them for the day. One of the ring girls ran to the mat in her socks. So I wonder how many have blisters on the feet during the next leg.

I stand corrected. It seems the teams had their bags waiting for them when they arrived at the gorge. (I had to watch the ep over again; it bugs me that the web version offers a better resolution than my tv 😠)

I stand corrected. It seems the teams had their bags waiting for them when they arrived at the gorge. (I had to watch the ep over again; it bugs me that the web version offers a better resolution than my tv 😠)

So, all teams received them at the gorge, makes sense.According to April, on Justin&Diana (+ James Earl and Korey Kuhl) Racers Recap show, the bags contained equipment, including jackets and heavier boots for each racer and their camera crew, so each team got 4 bags. They reappear after teams park the cars, as the clue instructions include that teams have to park the car and must take their bags with them. So they were kept in the trunk for most of the leg. I doubt we'll see them again.

Now I've had a few days to reflect on the episode, I'm still rather disappointed with this Leg.

Don't wanna have a totally negative post, so the things I had a problem with.- The chopping, all-over-the-place, editing! Think this was universally hated though.- Phil once again not saying all team placements. - The new intro! Really didn't like the new animations for the teams.. Would much rather the older versions. And the "Hosted By" bit was just - Hated we weren't told about the 2 flights.

I know TAR isn't known for it's great premiere episodes, so I'm just really hoping it picks up next week, because I'd hate to be a new viewer tuning in for the first time, and THIS being the first episode I ever saw.

I'm not sure if this is the right thread for this, but this seems to be where the recent episode 1 discussion is happening.

Jen Hudek of the skiers team posted a blog with her thoughts and more background information from episode 1. Much of it is stuff we already knew but there is some interesting stuff. Jen says that flight 1 did not serve any food to the passengers but flight 2 did. She said that by the end of the leg she hadn't eaten or slept in about 30 hours. Here's the link: http://jenhudak.com/amazing-race-30-1/ .

Also, I found a link that was supposed to be a 30 minute youtube video that Cody and Jess put up about their thoughts and extra information about episode 1. It appears to have been taken down. I tried to find their Youtube account but got lost in all the BB fan Youtube accounts. If any of you know a link to Cody and Jessica's Youtube account, you may find another version of this video. Here's the non-working link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcCzfVCEO00

Also, I found a link that was supposed to be a 30 minute youtube video that Cody and Jess put up about their thoughts and extra information about episode 1. It appears to have been taken down. I tried to find their Youtube account but got lost in all the BB fan Youtube accounts. If any of you know a link to Cody and Jessica's Youtube account, you may find another version of this video. Here's the non-working link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcCzfVCEO00

Their YouTube Channel is called "Living Jody" and you are right... the video is no longer on it. The only video about TAR is the one where they showed what they packed in their 1 bag Cody carried.

It's a very different airdate as well, and one that some of us have been asking for eversince the move to Fridays.If we're not getting 2 seasons a year anymore, I wouldn't be mad at all if TAR aired exactly like this each year!

... only, there could be a couple fewer double episodes.

Maybe it doesn't get interrupted by basketball or anything in this slot??

Also, I found a link that was supposed to be a 30 minute youtube video that Cody and Jess put up about their thoughts and extra information about episode 1. It appears to have been taken down. I tried to find their Youtube account but got lost in all the BB fan Youtube accounts. If any of you know a link to Cody and Jessica's Youtube account, you may find another version of this video. Here's the non-working link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcCzfVCEO00

Their YouTube Channel is called "Living Jody" and you are right... the video is no longer on it. The only video about TAR is the one where they showed what they packed in their 1 bag Cody carried.

I actually saw the video before it was taken down. They made several statements that incinuated that they lasted quite awhile in the race, like "later in the race" or "throughout the race". I'm guessing they had to take it down for that reason.